Does life continue after death? I would say that not only does it continue, in some cases it moves even faster than life on earth.
Beverly is a 75 year-old woman whose husband was dead three years when she had the following dream. “I see Bud in the red and white checkered shirt he used to wear. He is sitting in a chair and tells me it is high time I dispersed his ashes. He told me I need to move on with my life.”
Seven years later Beverly still had not made the trip to the pine forest where they both agreed to place their ashes. She continued to mourn the role she had when her husband was alive. She lived in the past, replaying memories and hanging onto his possessions, such as the convertible she insures but does not drive. Her identity is that of her husband’s widow, and she refuses to budge from it despite the depression it causes.
Recently she had another dream that felt like a visitation. “I see my husband. He introduces me to his new wife and two young children.” In reflecting on the dream Beverly stated that it was just like her husband. He was not one to dwell on or sentimentalize the past at the expense of the future.
Life goes where it is welcomed, and–paradoxical as it may seem–sometimes the dead are more alive than the living.